


Water

by Blackghost7



Category: NCIS
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, medicated!Tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-24
Updated: 2015-07-24
Packaged: 2018-04-11 00:54:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4414760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blackghost7/pseuds/Blackghost7
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This could only happen to Tony, of course.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Water

When Gibbs entered his house, his eyes immediately fell to the sheets and pillows and boxes haphazardly strewn around the bottom of the stairs. What the hell? Moving quietly, he put down the bags of groceries he was carrying and drew his gun. Slowly moving through the hall, he checked the kitchen, then moved to the living room and peered around the corner. For a moment, he was puzzled, then he softly sighed and put away his gun.

“DiNozzo?”

The sheet on one side of the structure - built with his dining table chairs and the back of the couch dragged in the middle of his living room, sheets hung over it on all sides held together with clothes pins - was drawn aside and Tony’s grinning face appeared.

“Hey, Boss!”

Gibbs swallowed, then gave a small smile. It was a bad day again then. He shouldn’t have left Tony alone, not even for an hour to do some necessary shopping.

“Hey, Tony. What are you doing?”

Tony’s grin widened, and he looked proud of himself.

“I built a tent! Wanna come inside?”

After removing his jacket and locking up his gun, Gibbs walked over to the tent where Tony was still holding up the sheet, still looking proud. Gibbs knelt and crawled inside, finding the floor of the tent covered completely with cushions Tony had obviously brought down from all over the house. Once Gibbs was inside, Tony let the sheet drop and pretended to zip it shut. He smiled at Gibbs who made himself comfortable stretched out on the pillows.

“It’s a good thing you came into the tent when you did, Boss! You hear that rain? There’s a storm coming! We’re gonna be stuck here for a while if we don’t wanna get wet.”

“How long do you think the storm will last, Tony?”

“Oh, hours, I think. It’s a good thing we’ve got supplies!”

Tony proudly pulled over a box from a corner of the tent, and Gibbs saw it was full of snacks and beers. Gibbs chuckled, and brushed his hand through Tony’s hair.

“Good job, Tony. Can I have a beer?”

“Sure!”

Handing Gibbs a beer, Tony looked at him almost shyly.

“Can I have one too?”

“Of course, Tony. Go ahead.”

Now smiling brightly, Tony took a beer for himself and took a big sip, then grabbed a foil packet from the box, opened it, and happily started munching on the potato chips he’d chosen, offering them to Gibbs as well. Gibbs took a handful, and for a few moments the crunching of the chips between their teeth was the only audible sound. Then Tony suddenly drew his head down between his shoulders as if startled.

“Whoa! Hear that, Boss? The storm is really breaking loose now! That was quite a thunderbolt!”

“Rain’s picking up too, Tony.”

“Yeah…”

Tony looked around the tent.

“Too bad we didn’t bring any games. I hope we don’t get bored.”

“I’m sure we’ll find something to do.”

When their beers were empty, Tony started to fidget.

“Boss?”

His voice was small.

“I don’t like the thunder anymore.”

“That’s okay, Tony. I’ll protect you. Why don’t you come here and we’ll take a nap. You won’t hear the thunder when you’re asleep.”

With a small nod, Tony crawled over to Gibbs and snuggled up against him, sighing when Gibbs put his arms around him and held him close. When Gibbs started brushing his hand through Tony’s hair, Tony relaxed and was asleep within minutes.

 

Gibbs couldn’t help but smile fondly at the man who was now peacefully sleeping in his arms. This could only happen to Tony, of course. A little over a week ago, they had got caught in a thunderstorm while out in the field, and they had all gotten the sniffles afterwards. But Tony, never one to do things by half, had caught an infection in one of his lungs, and Gibbs had taken him to the hospital to see Dr. Pitt. After a thorough examination, Dr. Pitt had assured them that there was no reason to worry, but that Tony would need to take a course of antibiotics to clear up the infection. With his usual flair, Tony had responded to the antibiotics much the same way he did to strong painkillers, and they made him really loopy at times.

Knowing how much Tony hated hospitals, and after being assured by Dr. Pitt that there was no reason for Tony to stay as long as he took the antibiotics and had someone to look after him, Gibbs had taken Tony to his home. Gibbs had plenty of vacation time outstanding, and Vance had been glad to give him the time off. Gibbs sighed. They still had a week and a half of this to go.

Chuckling to himself, Gibbs thought back over the past four days. When Tony was high because of the medication, he seemed to link back to the thunderstorm that had caused the infection, and he became a little obsessed with water. He had been collecting bugs in Gibbs’ yard, saying he had to put two of each in the boat in Gibbs’ basement, telling Gibbs to hurry with finishing the ark because the flood was coming. He had donned rainwear and picked up an umbrella, and stood under a cold shower in full gear for nearly half an hour before Gibbs had managed to coax him out again. He had found an inflatable mattress – Gibbs still had no idea where – and had spent a large part of an afternoon lying on it on the living room floor, bobbing it up and down, claiming he was floating around at sea and waiting to be rescued. And now there was the tent sheltering them from a thunderstorm.

The only thing that seemed to calm him down was when Gibbs promised to protect him, and held him in his arms. And therein lay the difficulty.

For Tony because when he woke up, he was more lucid, and fiercely embarrassed at his antics and at being held by Gibbs like a scared little kid.

For Gibbs because he enjoyed holding Tony too much.

And if the days were bad in that sense, the nights were even worse. The first night, Tony had gone to sleep in the guestroom, and Gibbs had woken up to find the tap running in the bathroom and Tony walking back and forth between bathroom and guestroom with a glass, filling it and then pouring it over his bed, claiming that his waterbed had sprung a leak and he was refilling it. After that, Gibbs had insisted Tony slept in the master bedroom with him, so he hopefully would notice if Tony woke up and be able to stop him from doing something silly. But when Gibbs woke up that morning, he discovered that Tony had wrapped himself around him, and that Gibbs’ body was responding enthusiastically to the feeling of Tony’s body against his. And apparently, Tony’s body liked it too.

Gibbs was jostled from his contemplations when he felt Tony’s hands start moving, softly caressing over his chest and side. Looking down, he saw Tony was still asleep, unaware of what he was doing. Gibbs sighed again. He had always known Tony liked to touch, and had found out that first night that that included touching him. Well, he supposed Tony would be the same with anyone else he found himself sleeping with, but a tiny little voice in the back of his mind was taunting him that he wished it was just with him. That Tony knew on some level that it was Gibbs. He had thought about asking Tony, but decided that wouldn’t be fair, not now. Even in his most lucid moments, Tony still couldn’t be held accountable for what he said as long as he was on the antibiotics.

 

Gibbs moaned and bucked up his hips, wanting more of the delicious feeling of that hand palming his arousal. Wait, what? His eyes shot open and he realized he must have drifted off for a moment, and now Tony was caressing him, his hand having found its way under his waistband and stroking him through his boxers. Gibbs barked before he could think better of it.

“Tony!”

Tony’s eyes shot open and he was sitting up before he realized where he was.

“What??”

Looking around frantically, Tony’s eyes found Gibbs lying there with an embarrassed expression on his face and the tips of his ears starting to turn pink. Wondering what was going on, Tony looked down to see his own hand in Gibbs’ jeans, and then he finally realized what his fingers were feeling. He drew his hand back as if it had been burned, then gasped a few times, trying to say something but not succeeding. And then he fled, rushing out of the tent and up the stairs, slamming first the bedroom door and then the bathroom door shut behind him.

Gibbs groaned as he rubbed his hands over his eyes, breathing deeply. This was bad, this was very bad. But it had been so good, so very good. No, this was bad, really, really bad. Letting out a grunt of frustration, Gibbs got up and crawled out of the tent. Furious with himself, he retrieved the groceries he had dropped when he came in more than an hour ago, and started putting them away with angry gestures, as if he could get rid of his frustration by taking it out on the inanimate objects. When he was done, he grabbed another beer and sank down onto the floor, leaning his back against the kitchen cabinets, trying to calm himself down. He reached for his phone.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Duck.”

“Jethro! How is young Anthony?”

Gibbs let his head thunk back against the cabinet and sighed.

“That’s why I called. Ehm… Duck…”

“What happened, Jethro? Should I come over?”

“No. No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“What happened?”

“Ehm… He’s responding to the medication worse than we expected. Can you call Pitt and ask if we can put him on something else?”

“Is Anthony alright? Is he sick?”

“No, nothing like that. He’s just… something happened, and now… he’s ashamed.”

“Well, surely you can convince him that there is nothing to worry about, Jethro?”

“Ehm… I don’t think he wants to talk to me right now.”

The silence lasted long moments.

“I see. Something of a personal nature, I gather?”

“Very personal, Duck.”

“Involving you?”

Gibbs sighed again, and Ducky had the nerve to chuckle.

“It’s not funny, Ducky.”

Ducky cleared his throat.

“No. No, I suppose not. Let the young man gather his thoughts for a few moments, Jethro, and you do the same. Meanwhile, I will consult with Dr. Pitt. I shall call you back momentarily.”

“Thanks, Duck.”

But Ducky had already hung up.

 

Momentarily turned out to be more than forty minutes later, and Gibbs had been glaring at his phone, willing it to ring for the last thirty five.

“Yeah, Gibbs.”

“Hello again, Jethro. I spoke to Dr. Pitt – such a charming young man – and he assures me that the effects of the antibiotics should lessen each day. Anthony’s body just has to get used to them, but since this is already the fourth day, Dr. Pitt is quite certain that in another two days, there will be no side-effects at all. He strongly recommends to continue this course, as he feels it is unwise to switch in the middle of one, and I would agree with him.”

Gibbs closed his eyes.

“Great. So what do I do in the meantime?”

“Reassure Anthony that he did nothing wrong, and that you understand. You do understand, don’t you?”

“I’m not sure, Duck. I…”

“Jethro! You cannot hold that young man responsible for actions taken under the influence of his medication, knowing how he reacts to them.”

“I know! That’s not it, Ducky.”

“Ah… Then perhaps you responded…”

“Yeah.”

“Well! Then I would say you should find that inner strength of yours, Gunny, hold yourself together for a few more days, and speak with the boy when he has all his faculties about him again.”

“Ducky…”

“Oh please, Jethro. I have observed you watching him for years now, and I know what that look means. I am also quite certain that young Anthony has feeling of a similar nature for you.”

“You…”

“Good luck, Jethro.”

And once again, Gibbs found himself glaring at his phone, blaming the device for Ducky cutting him off and simply hanging up on Gibbs.

 

When more than two hours had passed since Tony had fled upstairs and Gibbs still hadn’t heard a sound from him, he decided it had been enough. Not only was he worried that Tony was tying himself in knots over what had happened, he also needed to check that the younger man wasn’t playing with water again. Taking a deep breath to fortify himself, Gibbs made his way upstairs.

He found Tony still ensconced in the bathroom, tucked into the small space between the toilet and the tub, knees drawn up and his arms wrapped around them. When the door opened, Tony looked up, and Gibbs saw a deep apprehension in his eyes that made his heart clench.

“Tony?”

Tony only seemed to crawl further into himself at the sound of Gibbs’ voice, and Gibbs rubbed his hand over the back of his neck, unsure of what to do. Eventually he lowered himself to the floor and tried to make himself comfortable, sitting across from Tony.

“Hey.”

Tony turned his head away.

“Will you look at me, Tony? Please?”

It was the soft please that made Tony turn back and look at his boss.

“It’s okay, it’s really okay.”

Tony seemed to relax minutely.

“It’s the medication, Tony, I know that.”

To his surprise, the younger man tensed again. Gibbs debated with himself for a few seconds.

“And if it wasn’t the medication, that’s okay too.”

Tony’s head raised a little.

“I… It felt good, Tony. Really good. And I…”

Gibbs blew out a deep breath, then fixed Tony’s gaze with his.

“We should talk about this when you’re off those pills. We will talk about this, alright?”

After what seemed like ages, Tony gave a tiny nod, and Gibbs gave him a small smile.

“Good. Now will you please come back downstairs with me?”

When Tony didn’t move, Gibbs grinned at him.

“It’s starting to rain again. We should get back in the tent.”

Tony looked up at the ceiling as if checking the sky for rainclouds, then looked back at Gibbs with a small grin.

“Alright, Boss.”

Short minutes later, they were back in the tent in the living room, more beers added to their supplies, and this time, Tony had thought to grab a deck of cards so they could play a game while they waited for the imaginary thunderstorm to drift away and it was safe to go outside again.

 

Over the next three days, the effects of the medication indeed reduced until they were non-existent. Tony had needed to wait out another thunderstorm in the tent, and Gibbs had had to stop him from flooding the bathroom once, but all in all these were minor antics, and Gibbs smiled about them. The nights were a different matter though.

 

Gibbs still refused to let Tony sleep in the guestroom alone, and though Tony eventually gave in and crawled into bed next to Gibbs, he was too tense to sleep, worried that he might touch the man again. After they had spent more than an hour staring up at the ceiling, both still wide awake, their bodies rigid with tension, Gibbs gave up. He rolled over and drew a struggling Tony against him, then kissed Tony’s temple.

“It’s okay, Tony. I’ll protect you.”

Tony stopped fighting him, then looked up at Gibbs.

“Jethro…”

“And you’ll protect me, Tony. We’ll protect each other. We’ll take care of each other. We always have, and we always will.”

“But what if…”

“Then that’s okay. It’s all okay.”

“But I…”

“Go to sleep, Tony.”

After a short hesitation, Tony snuggled deeper under the covers and into Gibbs’ arms, and promptly fell asleep. When he felt Tony finally relax against him, Gibbs drifted off as well. But when he woke up, Tony was sitting the the foot of the bed, knees drawn up and his arms around them in the same posture he had taken in the bathroom, and Gibbs knew there was trouble. 

"Tony?"

"Boss, I…"

"What happened?"

"I… I'm sorry."

"About what?"

"I…"

Gibbs sat up, blinking the sleep from his eyes, and it was only then that he noticed that his shorts were lower down than he would usually expect them to be, and that he was fully erect. In his worry over Tony, he hadn't even realized. Stifling a small groan, he looked back up at Tony.

"It happens, Tony. Nothing to worry about."

"But I…"

"Did you look out for me? Protect me?"

Now Tony's eyes turned fierce.

"I would never hurt you, Boss!"

"I know. And you didn't. So stop worrying and come back to sleep. I'm still tired and I need you close, so you can keep me safe."

Tony seemed to perk up at being given such an important task, and without further protest, snuggled back into Gibbs' arms.

 

The second night, Tony was more lucid and not so easily persuaded, but eventually Gibbs got him to believe that his touch did not offend Gibbs, and that he should come back under the covers.

 

The third night, Tony's mind was clear.

 

Gibbs woke up feeling very good and relaxed, despite the sticky feeling in his shorts. That evaporated quickly when he saw Tony sitting cross-legged on his side of the bed, staring down at Gibbs with a puzzled expression. 

"Tony?"

"Gibbs. Or should I call you Jethro now?"

"Your mind clear?"

"Crystal."

"You mad?"

"Curious. Surprised."

Gibbs sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"You okay, Tony?"

"Are you?"

"Actually… I feel exceptionally well."

Tony snorted back a laugh.

"You're taking this better than I expected."

"Tony… I… I need to apologize to you."

"What!?"

Gibbs' growl told Tony not to push it.

"For… for…"

"For what, Jethro?"

"You weren't yourself. And I shouldn't have…"

Tony huffed. 

"Shouldn't have what, Gibbs? You can't even say it, can you?"

Grinding his teeth in frustration, Gibbs tried to stay calm. He took another deep breath. He seemed to be doing that a lot too, lately.

"Shouldn't have taken advantage of you. Shouldn't have held you. Shouldn't have forced you to sleep with me."

The soft chuckling building into a helpless laughter within moments caught Gibbs off guard. He finally opened his eyes again, and stared at his Second In Command rolling around on the bed, clutching his stomach, trying to draw breath in between raucous laughs. Gibbs actually started to get a little mad. But then Tony made an effort to contain himself, even though he was still grinning widely and chuckles escaped his throat unbidden, and in a quick move he straddled Gibbs and pinned his wrists to the mattress next to his head.

"Forced me?"

Gibbs' cheeks started to burn with shame.

"I have been dreaming of sleeping with you for years, Jethro. And it really didn't involve sleeping at all."

Tony leaned down and planted a slow, seductive kiss on Gibbs' lips that Gibbs couldn't help but respond to. When at last he pulled back, Tony's eyes were sparkling.

"You love me."

Gibbs froze.

"What?"

"You love me. All the shit I pulled when I was high on those pills? And you just smiled and let me do it, indulging me. You never indulge anyone. But you let me. You played along. And then you held me and soothed me and told me it was okay, and that you'd protect me. You love me, Jethro."

Letting out his breath slowly, Gibbs knew he was lost.

"Tony, I…"

"Don't say you're sorry. Say you love me."

"Tony…"

"Say it, Jethro. Please?"

Gibbs focused his eyes on Tony, feeling completely undignified by his position, but unable to withstand the pleading look in the beautiful green eyes looking down at him with a mixture of happiness and uncertainty.

"You're insufferable. You're impossible. You're incapable of behaving like an adult even when you're not doped up to your gills on medication. You're loud, you talk too much, you quote too many movies I've never seen and never will. And… I love you, Tony. Because you're smart and beautiful and strong. And because you're insufferable, and impossible, and you can play with a childish innocence that makes me smile. And because you talk so much, keeping me company while letting me be, and because… I love you."

Tony's eyes, which had started to sadden with Gibbs' first words, now were shining brightly with something else. He cleared his throat.

"I love you too, Jethro."

"Very succinct, Tony."

"Shut up and kiss me, Gibbs."

And with great pleasure, Gibbs did just that, and more.


End file.
